In and Out of Time
by AWriter93
Summary: When they find the first body, it puts everyone on edge. When the second and third show up, it's clear that someone is trying to send Jane a message, and it's not a pleasant one. Will it be Jane's neck on the line next, or someone else's? Eventual Rizzles of course.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey, guys! This is my very first Rizzles fanfic, so please bear that in mind. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update, but please read and review! Thanks!**

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Detective Jane Rizzoli looked over at the form of her best friend and co-worker, Dr. Maura Isles. While they had been curled up on Maura's sofa watching a movie, the darling medical examiner had fallen into a peaceful sleep. _She even looks amazing while she's sleeping, _Jane thought to herself. Unwilling to disturb her friend's slumber, Jane rearranged the pillow behind her head, pulled her blanket up under her chin, and drifted off into a sleep that she hoped would be as peaceful as Maura's.

"Jaaanie," a voice called to her from the pitch black end of the tunnel. That voice sent a chill down her spine. She stood, waiting and watching the place where she heard the voice come frome, and knew who it was before she saw him. Hoyt emerged from the shadows and kept walking towards Jane. "Did you miss me? Does Maura miss me?" He asked her with a sick grin on his face. Even though the logical part of Jane's brain knew Hoyt was dead, the rest of her followed instinct, turned, and ran the other way.

Maura started to wake up. Jane's tossing and turning had woken her, since they were both still on the couch together. She recognized Jane's heavy breathing and the slight sweat on her forehead as an indication that Jane was having a nightmare. The medical examiner battled internally with herself for a moment, trying to decide if it was safe to wake Jane. Maura hated seeing her best friend look so uncomfortable, so she came to the conclusion that she should wake her.

"Jane? Jane, can you wake up?" Maura was rubbing Jane's back in her attempt to wake Jane as nicely as she could. The tunnel around her suddenly disappeared. Jane was awake now, and she heard Maura's voice. It relaxed her almost instantly, and feeling Maura's hand on her back gave her another feeling. She shook her head to clear it, and dismissed that other feeling.

"You were having a nightmare, Jane. Are you alright?" Jane could hear the concern in Maura's voice.

"Yeah, Maur, I'm fine." Maura gave Jane a look that said she knew better. Jane sighed and gave in; hiding this from Maura was pointless. "I- I had a nightmare about Hoyt. I know he's dead, but I guess the rest of my brain still hasn't gotten used to that yet. It upsets me still, because I realize how close I was to losing you…" Jane's voice trailed off as she finished her sentence and she suddenly couldn't look Maura in the eyes. Maura pulled Jane into a hug, but wished she could comfort her friend in a more intimate way. She had noticed Jane' uneasiness, and wondered if Jane could feel the same way she did. The medical examiner thought about saying something, but just then Jane turned back to look at her. "Maura?" Jane started nervously, "I, um, well-" Jane was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone, and Maura's began doing the same. Maura's eyes searched Jane's, willing her to continue speaking. Jane wanted to have this conversation with Maura. Denying her feelings was becoming increasingly difficult, but Jane wanted them to be able to go to work without the necessary conversation fresh in the minds to distract them. "_As if Maura's not already distracting enough,_" Jane laughed to herself. Jane broke eye contact first and reached for her phone.

"Rizzoli."

"Isles," Maura answered, mentally sighing, wishing that work hadn't called at the most inconvenient time.

"Alright, Maur, let's go investigate another murder," Jane said while placing her hand on her friend's knee. The touch made Maura's stomach flutter.

"We don't know it was a murder, Jane," Maura reminded her.

"You're right, you're right," Jane conceded. "Maybe we'll find some reddish-brown stuff, too!" Jane winked at Maura with her last sentence, and even though Maura knew Jane was poking fun at her, she couldn't help but give a little laugh. The two got up to leave, and Maura grabbed her car keys out of her purse. "Oh, no you don't!" Jane warned. "We can take your car, but I'M driving!" Maura pursed her lips, and Jane was sure she was about to get an earful from her friend, but to her surprise, Maura handed over the keys. "Really? No retort?" Jane asked incredulously.

"I'll play nice this one time," Maura replied with a slight twinkle in her eye. Jane noticed it, and found herself rooted to the spot. She suddenly wanted nothing else than to close the space between them and kiss Maura. "Are you going to stand there with your mouth open all day, Jane? They'll start to wonder if we got lost! Besides, if you leave your jaw in that position for too long-" Maura stopped talking as Jane turned and practically ran out to the car. "_Hmm, that was odd,_" Maura thought to herself.

"What do we got?" Jane asked Frost and Korsak as she and Maura appeared on the scene.

"The garbage men found her body this morning in that Dumpster," Frost informed her. "The medical unit is on its way here to transport the body back to the morgue." Jane nodded as Frost filled her in on what little things they already knew. Jane noticed that Frost kept nervously looking over towards the body, where Maura was getting ready to set to work. She was squatting next to the body when she noticed something. A tiny gasp escaped from her lips before she could hold it back. "What is it, Maur?" Jane called over to her. Though it wasn't obvious, Maura had noticed that there was a small thin line running along the victim's neck. It wasn't nearly as clean and precise as Hoyt's signature cut had been, but the medical examiner was still concerned with how similar it was. "Maura?" Jane called again, trying to get her friend's attention, "What did you find?" Maura stood up and turned back to the other three, exchanging a glace with Korsak and Frost simultaneously.

Jane looked at them, confused about what has happening that she obviously wasn't a part of yet. Jane hated being left out of the loop. "Will someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" Jane's voice rising as she became agitated. "Jane," Korsak began, "our vic has a thin slice across her throat, similar to Hoyt's style. However, it wasn't the cause of death in this case." Korsak looked to Dr. Isles at this statement, who tilted her head slightly. "I can't say for sure what the actual cause of death was at this point, but it is highly unlikely that the cut to her that was what did it." Maura reasoned that she wasn't guessing when she said that, so her conscience was still clear. "Oh," was all Det. Rizzoli managed to say. Maura could feel her heart sink as Jane's face fell.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm so sorry it took so long to update this. I've had some serious writer's block lately, and you wouldn't believe how crazy college has been... I hope you stick around and give this story a chance! This chapter's a little shorter than the last, but I hope you still love it. Reviews/comments are always welcome! *A friend just found a spelling error in here, so I'm updating this. Oops :( ***

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Frost and Korsak exchanged nervous glances as Maura searched Jane's face to figure out how her friend was really feeling at this news. For a split second, Maura thought she saw a look of pain and fear, but that was quickly replaced by a determined look. "We'd better get back to BPD," Jane stated, "We've got work to do, guys." The others nodded in agreement. "I'll call Frankie, give him a heads up that we're coming in," Frost said. Jane and Maura trudged back to Maura's car in silence.

"Hey, let's stop for some coffee on the way back, shall we?" Maura asked Jane as they settled into the car. Maura was driving now. Jane hadn't even attempted to drive this time, and had gone straight toward the passenger door. Jane was lost in her own world of thoughts, swirling around her head, clanking into each other. Her body was on auto-pilot when her friend's voice snapped her out of it.  
"Huh?" Jane asked, not sure what Maura had said. Maybe she had asked her a question, Jane didn't know.

"I asked if you would like to stop for some coffee on our way back."

Jane could see the worry so plainly written on Maura's face.

"Yeah, coffee would be great, Maur," Jane replied, allowing a smile to form on her face. She reached over, took Maura's hand, and held it in her own. "Thank you," Jane said. Maura looked over at Jane, and decided that Jane's smile wasn't completely forced. At least, not as much as she thought it might have been. Her stomach gave a little flutter when Jane held her hand, and Maura felt a smile break out on her own face.

They drove the rest of the way to the coffee shop in a comfortable silence. Jane had planned on letting go of Maura's hand relatively soon after she first grabbed it, but realized it might be the only thing that was currently keeping her rooted in reality. While they drove along, Jane realized that Maura definitely had become an anchor in her life, and Jane was grateful for that fact. She was starting to realized that maybe Maura meant more to her than she had thought. Some of her thoughts about her best friend were certainly more than "friendly," she couldn't deny that, and those thoughts had been increasing as of late. But Maura couldn't feel the same way she did, could she? Maura couldn't lie, so how could she keep a secret like that so well for so long? Jane looked over at the beautiful woman next to her. She decided Maura looked happy, but she also appeared to be in thought. "_What is going through that wonderful mind of yours, Maura Isles?"_ Jane wondered to herself.

Not that Jane could have known, but Maura's thought were along the same line as hers. The butterflies in Maura's stomach had still not subsided. She had experienced these feelings before, times when Jane's fingers brushed against hers while they were working, when she and Jane had hugged. Really, any physical contact, or sometimes even the right look, from Jane could set her stomach fluttering. Although she had never really had a best friend before, Maura knew enough to realize that these things weren't just feelings caused by simple friendship. No, something else was going on here. Maura had fallen for her best friend, that much she knew. But she was afraid. Afraid that Jane didn't, wouldn't, or couldn't feel the same way, and afraid that she wouldn't be able to keep it from Jane much longer. Maura couldn't lie, and especially not about something as big as this. She looked over at Jane as they parked at the coffee shop, and her eyes met Jane's. For a moment, they both stayed there, looking into each other's eyes and smiling at the other. It felt like they were the only people in the world, and everyone else just fell away. In this moment, it was just them, and time was frozen. Jane's glanced down at Maura's lips before she could consciously think to do so. Panicking, she cleared her throat. "How about we get that coffee?" Jane's voice was a little higher than normal, and as she heard herself, her face started to flush.  
"Yes, the coffee," Maura started quickly, noticing Jane's embarrassment. They both exited the car and made their way inside.

They waited in line, side by side, the easy silence falling over them again. Maura was watching Jane, trying to gauge her friend's emotions. Maura had always been able to read Jane well. Now, it seemed, Jane was trying to keep the worry off of her face, but sometimes she would slip up and it would show. Jane turned to Maura, "What you gonna stare at me all day?" Jane teased, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"You caught me, Jane," Maura responded, "I just can't get enough of your beautiful face!" Maura's tone was light and playful, so Jane laughed along with her. She also thought the doctor's words might have some truth to them. Jane didn't know it yet, but she was right.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello again, everybody! I hope you're all doing well and enjoying this story so far. Unfortunately, I don't own any of these characters, as I'm sure you all know. Also, I apologize for any spelling/grammar mistakes I may have made! Feel free to leave a review or send me any suggestions. They're much appreciated! Thanks to everyone who has followed/favorited this story! You guys rock :)**

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Coffee in hand, the two friends headed back out to the car. Jane's mind began to wander, and she headed to the passenger side again without a second thought of it. Maura's dress today was absolutely stunning, as usual. That fact hadn't been missed by Jane in the least bit. They both settled into the car, the hem of Maura's dress inching up just a little. Not enough to be scandalous, but enough to make Jane's heart rate increase. Of course, Maura seemed to always have that effect on Jane, no matter what she was wearing at the time. As Maura looked over and made eye contact, Jane's wandering mind suddenly threw itself into overdrive.

_Maura subconsciously licked her lips and leaned in ever so slightly towards Jane. Jane saw every movement. From the way her friend's tongue glided over her perfect lips to the slight lean towards her. A comforting hand reached out and rested on Jane's shoulder. She couldn't take it anymore, Maura was driving her crazy. Before she could think about it any longer, Jane had both of her hands on either side of Maura's face and leaned in to capture her lips with her own. She heard the slight breath that Maura inhaled just before their lips met. Jane wasn't exactly being tender, but the passion in the kiss was obvious. Maura was kissing her back, Jane could tell. The car was suddenly in the middle of nowhere, parked off to the side of a road. No one was around, and Jane was thankful that her brain had imagined them somewhere private. She managed to wrap her arms around her friend, and pulled Maura unceremoniously onto her lap. She felt Maura's hands tangle into her hair and shuddered as a moan escaped from Maura's lips. Or had she moaned? She couldn't really tell, but at this point she didn't think it mattered. Her hands moved to Maura's thighs and Jane started to push the dress up farther than it had already managed to get on its own. As Jane's hands got higher and higher, Maura increased the intensity of their kiss, as if encouraging her friend to continue. When Jane reached her destination (after what felt like an eternity) she slowly slipped her fingers over what little lace Maura was wearing._

_ "Jane, you know it's not nice to tease," Maura groaned at her. "Please Jane, I need you. I always have, and I always will. You're the only one I want. Jane…"_ "…Jane? Hello, Earth to Jane?" Maura hadn't thought much of Jane's quietness as they drove through Boston back to the station. That is, until she had noticed a change of breathing rate and a slight clench of Jane's muscles as she tensed. Maura wasn't exactly sure what Jane was experiencing, but it was a little worrisome. Jane blinked her eyes quickly and looked over at her friend. "Huh?" "_Damn, Maur, did you have to interrupt just then?"_ Jane thought to herself, disappointed that their car ride had ended and she hadn't gotten to continue her fantasy. Maura noticed Jane's dilated eyes and wondered if her friend had just been experiencing some arousal. It certainly would make sense, based on what she had observed, but she wondered what Jane had been seeing in her mind's eye.

"We're back at the station," Maura explained. "The others probably wonder where we are."  
"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Jane sighed as she thought about getting back to the case. The thought made her stomach churn, and all the pleasant things she had just been experiencing vanished from her mind. _"You shouldn't even be thinking about her like that, Rizzoli, she's your best friend. Maura's practically family, for crying out loud!"_ Jane chided herself silently. Jane knew that wouldn't keep the thoughts away though, they always came back. "Let's get started on this case, Maur. The sooner we get done, the sooner everything can go back to normal. Maura nodded at her friend, trying to stay upbeat and positive. Maura didn't want things to go back to "normal." She was tired of pretending not to have feelings for Jane, but she was also too scared to act on them and scare Jane away forever. The only thing worse than not being able to love Jane the way she wanted to love her was the thought of losing Jane because of something she did. Having Jane as a best friend was better than having no Jane at all, Maura was sure of that much.

Maura got out of the car with as much poise and grace as she did everything. Jane on the other hand, was a little weak in the knees. She wasn't sure where that fantasy had come from; actually, she knew exactly what the source was. She was reminded of it again as Maura walked into the building in front of Jane. She tried not to stare, but Maura's heels made her calves look enticing, and Jane's eyes only went up from there. She shook her head to clear her thoughts for the second time that day. She tried to save those ideas and images until she was home alone and could actually do something about how incredibly turned on her best friend made her, though she would never admit it to anyone. Jane knew she would spend the next several minutes in an uncomfortable state until the case took up every facet of her mind. She supposed she could slip into the bathroom for a few minutes…oh who was she kidding. She wouldn't do something like that at work.

"Are you coming?" Maura called back to her. Jane had stopped halfway through the lobby of the building without even realizing it. She gulped as she looked at Maura's shining hazel eyes. "Of course, Maur," she said smiling. "Lead the way."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey, all! If you've stuck with me so far, I thank you. Every follow, favorite, and review is like giving me a kitten, puppy, or rainbow colored unicorn and I love it :) I hope I did this chapter justice. Please let me know what you think, how you feel, and anything else you'd like to say, just let me know! I'm sorry for any typos/errors that I may have made. You know, being human and such. Thanks for reading!**

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As Maura and Jane walked into the bullpen, Jane could feel the shift in the atmosphere. Maura reached out and placed her hand on Jane's arm.

"I'm going to head down and start on the autopsy. If you need anything, you know where to find me. Otherwise, I'll call when I find something useful." Jane watched Maura leave and then turned back to Frost and Korsak.

"We got any leads yet?"

"No, not yet," Korsak replied, "we got a name though. Jenny Wallesh. Looks like she was a clerk at that secondhand bookstore near where she was found. My guess is she was walking home after work. She lived nearby." As Korsak finished filling in Jane on what little they did know, Frost piped up, "I'm running through her cell phone records right now. There's nothing out of the ordinary though. It looks like the last phone call was made to her parents yesterday." Jane sighed, this wasn't much to go on, but she supposed it was a start.  
"Alright," she said, "Frost, you and I will head to the bookstore and see if we can find anything out there. Korsak, you and Frankie can handle the parents?" Korsak nodded as Jane fastened her badge and gun into their places on herself and she and Frost headed out.

Jane and Frost pulled up to the bookstore several minutes later. It was a quaint little place, and Jane could tell that the rustic appearance was part of the place's charm. She hoped that at a small shop like this, the other employees would be cooperative and helpful. Frost walked into the store first, with Jane just behind him. They could see a middle aged woman at a shelf that was against one of the walls inside. She had several books in her hands and the two detectives guessed she must be an employee since she seemed to be re-shelving the books.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Frost started, so as to not startle the woman too much. "I'm Detective Frost and this is Detective Rizzoli. We're with Boston PD, Homicide. Do you have a few minutes? We'd like to ask you some questions." The woman looked confused, but nodded.  
"Sure," she responded, "there's a table back here where we can sit. Please, call me Melissa. May I ask what this is about?" Jane started speaking as they all headed the short distance to the table and sat down, "It's about one of your employees, Jenny Wallesh. I'm sorry to say it, but her body was found this morning, and her death is now under investigation. She was working here last night, is that correct?"

"Oh how horrible!" Melissa whispered, her eyes starting to shine as tears welled up behind her eyes. "She was such a lovely young woman. She'd been working for me since she started college and she liked it here so much she continued even after she had graduated a few years ago. Yes, she was working last night as she did every Tuesday evening. Her apartment isn't far from here, so she would walk as long as the weather was nice enough."

"Can you tell me what Jenny was wearing yesterday when you saw her? Did everything seem normal about her?"

"Yes," Melissa began, "everything seemed fine. Jenny came in around three in the afternoon like usual, and I believe she was wearing a blue sundress with a denim jean jacket if I remember correctly." Jane and Frost both exchanged looks at the last comment. When they had found the body, she was wearing black dress pants and a light blue shirt with a black blazer over it.

"Are you sure that's what she was wearing?" Frost asked.

"Yes, I remember it clearly now," she stated, "Jenny mentioned she had just gotten the outfit that weekend. She seemed excited that the weather was nice enough to wear it." Jane watched as Frost jotted down the clothing discrepancy on his notepad and then placed it back into his pocket. "Thank you for your time, Melissa," Frost said as he reached across the table to shake her hand. "Let us know if you think of anything else you think might be useful to us," and with that, Frost handed her one of his business cards and the two detectives left the store.

Melissa was as cooperative as Jane had hoped she would be. It seemed though, that their chat hadn't revealed much, if any, new information. Jane waited patiently in the car as Frost searched though the police databases as he ran checks on the other employees. They decided they might as well do it now while they were out and about in case anything came back with a red flag. However, nothing of interest showed up. Frost looked over at his partner and shook his head, "Nope, nothing on the other coworkers." Jane sighed and looked around outside the car. This neighborhood seemed quiet and peaceful, a bit unusual for a murder. The houses and apartments around were not unlike hers, and she couldn't imagine anything like this happening where she lived. The buzzing of her phone in her pocket pulled her out of her train of thought. Maybe it was Maura calling with something useful. Jane hoped that's what it was. Nope, it was Korsak.

"Jane, I need you and Frost meet us down at docks."  
"Sure, what's up?"

"There's another body. Similar to the one found this morning."

"Alright, we're on our way." Jane hung up the phone and turned to Frost. "They found another body down at the docks. Same MO as this morning's body." Frost nodded and started driving towards the docks. Jane's mind was racing, but the only coherent thought should could catch out of it all was, "_Damn."_

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Maura left the office and headed down to the morgue. As strange as her morning with Jane had been, and even though she didn't want to leave Jane's side, she knew that this autopsy was critical for the case. Still, on her way downstairs she couldn't shake the feeling that something about Jane's actions this morning had been noticeably different than most others. At first, Maura just chalked it up to the case, but then she realized it had started before they had even arrived at the body. Maybe it had been the nightmare. That seemed like the most logical reason for Jane's behavior, so Maura decided to leave it at that (for now) as she entered the morgue. She slipped on her lab coat, carefully pulled on a pair of fresh gloves, and took up her scalpel. This was her element. She may not always understand living people and their crazy emotions the best, but she could certainly provide a voice to those who had already passed on to whatever afterlife in which they believed. As she made the Y incision, her emotional mind switched off and she was in full medical mode.

Awhile later, Maura had finished her autopsy and was waiting for the results from the tox-screen. She could now confirm what Korsak had speculated earlier, that the cut on the victim's neck had not been the cause of death. In fact, Maura had not been able to find a physical cause of death, which had led to the need to check for toxins. She suspected they would find something deadly, because she had found a near invisible prick in the woman's arm, as if she had been injected with something. She had also found a liquid substance on the woman's lips, which she had found rather odd. Just then, Susie returned with the test results.

"Dr. Isles," she started, "you're going to want to see this." Maura's brow furrowed as she took the results from Susie and looked over them. Her eyes scanned the page while her brain worked to make sense of the findings. She could understand the chloroform that had been detected; it would have been used to render the victim unconscious and helpless.

"You're right," Maura said to Susie, "this is quite odd and interesting at the same time. It's most unusual really." The victim had been injected with poison, but not just any poison. It had been a relatively large dosage of venom from a copperhead snake. Maura knew the copperhead was one of the only two venomous snakes in the Boston area, and that even seeing such a snake was very rare. She wasn't sure how the killer had managed to get their hands on this venom, but she thought it should help narrow down some possibilities. _"I need to let Jane know what I've found. I hope this can help this case enough to give them some direction,"_ Maura thought. Just then, Frankie came into the room with a worried look on his face. "Frankie, what is it?" she asked.

"They found another body, Maura; we gotta go meet Jane and Frost at the scene." Maura grabbed her Medical Examiner's bag and followed Frankie quickly out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: First off, I want to say how incredibly terrible I feel for not updating this story sooner. These past weeks at college have been an absolute nightmare. Second of all, this chapter is a little slow, more story development and sliiiight Rizzles fluff, if you wanna call it that. Please read and review, anything you have to say is much appreciated! I love hearing from you guys. I've come to realize that knowing where you want to take a story and actually getting the characters there can be two very different things! Anyway, thanks for reading!**

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Maura, Frankie, and Korsak arrived on the scene near the docks not long after Jane and Frost. But it had been long enough. Jane had already gotten a look at the body and had to fight against her urge to run back to the car. This victim looked strangely similar to the first one. She was wearing a black blazer and black suit pants with a dark purple shirt. Jane didn't need to wait for the medical examiner to get here and tell her what the cause of death was. She knew Maura would hate her for "guessing," but Jane didn't think this counted much as guessing. The victim's throat was most definitely slit. Heck, Jane may have even gone so far as to say slashed. The first body could have been considered coincidence, if you stretched your boundaries about it a bit, but this one threw that possibility out the window. Jane knew someone was trying to send her a message. She looked up as she heard the sound of car doors shutting nearby. Her eyes met Maura's immediately, and she saw the worry in her friend's eyes. Was there a hint of fear there, too?

As Maura met Jane's eyes, should couldn't help but feel a wave of worry wash over her. The pain in Jane's eyes was almost too much for her to bear, and that scared her. She knew in that moment that whatever had happened to this victim was worse than their first.

"Jane, are you alright? What happened?" Maura started. Jane just shook her head in response and motioned to the body. As Maura got a view of the victim for the first time, she let out a slight gasp. The first murder had been clean, but this one was messier. She knelt down next to the body and did some of her initial checks, giving the body a once-over. She looked up, expecting to see Jane next to her, but Jane was back by the cars, sitting up against a wall. Maura looked from Frost, who was busy trying to keep his lunch down, to Korsak. Korsak gave her a small nod, and she immediately got up and went to Jane.

"How are you doing?" she asked as she sat down next to her best friend.

"I'm doing great, Maura, thanks for asking! This day is turning out to be the best!" Jane's biting sarcasm made Maura flinch just the slightest. "Geez, Maur, I'm sorry. You didn't do anything wrong," Jane apologized as she slipped her arm behind Maura's back. She rested her head on Maura's shoulder and continued, "Why is this happening? What did I ever do?" as a single tear slipped from her eye.

"Jane, you did nothing wrong. I wish I could tell you why this is happening to the most amazing woman I know," said Maura, as she rested her head on top of Jane's. She reached out and put her arms around Jane, holding her, trying to convey all of her thoughts and feelings into one hug, though she knew that simply wasn't possible.

The two stayed that way while Frost, Korsak, and Frankie finished the rest of the preliminary scene investigation. Silent tears made their way down Jane's face, and onto Maura's shoulder, seeping through the fabric of her dress.

"I think we're done here, unless you have anything else you'd like to do before the move the body, Doctor?" Korsak informed them as the men made their way to the ladies.

"No, it's quite alright. I can do the rest of my tests better in the morgue. Jane, are you ready to go?" Jane nodded her head and started to stand, extending a hand to Maura to help pull the doctor to her feet. Jane pulled her up a little too hard, and Maura found herself falling into Jane, who held her close. Maura looked up and met Jane's eyes. She was momentarily lost, her breath caught in her throat, and rooted to the spot. She also noticed as Jane's eyes darted down to her lips, then back to her eyes. Jane quickly let go of her friend with a slight cough.

"Shit, Maur, I'm sorry," Jane said, glancing at Maura's tear-soaked shoulder. "I'm—you, you should have said something." Maura remembered to start breathing again and answered, "Jane, it's fine, really, it is," and dismissed it with the wave of her hand, "Let's just get you back to the station."

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"Jessica Riganti. At least, that's who her prints say she is." Frost was back from running the victim's prints through the database, and now they had somewhere to start. "System says she worked at the pawn shop near where she was found. Should we head over there and get going on the questions?"

Jane nodded, "Yeah, we should. The sooner we get that done, the better. Wanna come with us?" she directed towards Maura, "Unless you wanted to get started on the autopsy, of course." Maura wasn't sure whether or not Jane really wanted her to come along, but she figured she must if she had asked.  
"Sure, but can we make a quick stop by the morgue? I want to see if Susie has the results from the tox screen yet," and with that, the trio headed down to the basement.

Sure enough, Susie was waiting for them just inside the morgue doors. "What did you find?" Maura asked.

"Well, Doctor Isles, there were traces of chloroform again and also some of the same venom. Both amounts were significantly lower, though, than the first victim." Jane and Frost looked at each other quizzically. Noticing the exchange, Maura decided that needed to be brought up to date on the cause of death for their victims.

"Our first victim was poisoned. Korsak was right when he suggested that the cut on her throat did not kill her. Chloroform was used to render her unconscious, which is why she didn't fight back. I was rather confused by all of this at first, but when I looked closer, I saw a tiny mark on her arm. It turned out that she was injected with snake venom, a copperhead, to be exact, one of the only two poisonous snakes in this area. As for our second victim, the cause of death was exsanguination. Or," she said looking at the increasingly confused look on Frost's face, "she bled to death from having her throat slit." Frost nodded, finally understanding something the doctor was saying. "Also, based on the lower levels of both chloroform and venom, I'd say that our killer wanted this young woman to know what was happening to her, and to be in pain." Jane grimaced at this news and felt her stomach clench. They weren't any closer to finding this new monster, and they now had two bodies. She hoped that there wouldn't be any more.

"Good to know," Jane said. "We found out that the first victim had her clothing changed from when she was last seen to when we found her. Apparently she had been wearing a blue sundress when she was at work, but as you know, we found her in a pant suit. So the clothing is important to the killer for some reason." Jane had her growing suspicions, but was afraid to talk about them before she was sure. Though she was worried what it would take for her to actually be sure.  
"Now that everyone's all caught up," Frost started, "let's head out to the pawn shop. Maybe we can find a lead out there." And with that, the three of them headed back out into Boston.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey, guys! I know it's been waaay too long since I updated this story, so I understand if you all hate me. I hate myself for it, too. I've been on a SwanQueen kick and I was just stuck in a rut with this story and was having such a hard time for finding any motivation at all to keep going, especially since there's not any weekly Rizzles on my tv... Turns out I just needed a good ol' thunderstorm to show up and get me into gear (plus a kick from a friend)! That storm's gonna sneak into the end of this chapter and the next, too...hehe! Also, I have no beta, so all mistakes are mine, I'm sorry! Please read and review, maybe that'll help motivate me! ;) You're all rockstars for reading this. If only I owned any of this whatsoever, things would be so different on TNT!**

* * *

Frost, Maura, and Jane pulled to the curb outside the pawn shop. As they stepped out of the vehicle, Maura placed her hand gently on Jane's shoulder and gave her friend a small, sad smile. "Are you doing alight, Jane?" Maura asked.  
"Yeah, Maur, I'm fine," Jane responded, returning her friend's sad smile. She quickly set her face back into detective mode, and pushed her emotions back down. She had work to do. Maura sighed internally as she watched her best friend square her shoulders and walk into the pawn shop.

A little bell tinkled above Jane's head as she made her way inside. The owner of the pawn shop took one glance at the crew walking in and knew immediately that they were cops of some kind.  
"I don't know nothing about nobody," he said quickly, throwing his hands up in disgust.

"Nice try Sergio," Jane replied, "But I think you are going to know something about the person we're going to question you about. Plus, the more cooperative you are, the less likely my partner and I are to poke around and take a look at some of the things you've got for sale here." Jane raised her eyebrows at the man as she finished her sentence. She had successfully tripped him up by using his first name, something he hadn't expected. Korsak had been astounded back at the office when Jane had used Google to pull up some information about the shop. Sergio looked between the three people standing before him.

"Alright, I'll be as cooperative as I can be," he said resignedly. Jane pushed a photo of Jessica across the countertop towards Sergio.

"What can you tell us about this young woman?" Frost asked him.

"Oh, I can help you with that, man. That there's Jessica. She's been working for me for about seven months now. She's good at her job, always punctual," he said, nodding as he went. "She cleans up real nice, too," he commented with a slight smirk.  
"And what do you mean by that?" Frost questioned.

"I don't know for sure, but she may have been an escort, too," Sergio said. "I ran into her every once in a while downtown on some Friday evenings, all dressed up and hanging onto the arm of some man in a fancy suit. Never the same man, either. Yeah, she looked real pretty those nights. In fact, just yesterday she came to work in a very nice outfit. Pencil skirt, tight blouse. Said she had something to attend after she got off here and wouldn't have time to go back to her place and change, so she hoped it was alright that she was dressed nice. Of course, I wasn't going to complain, ya know?" He shot Frost a knowing wink, one that was neither received well nor returned.

"I think we've heard enough here, don't you think, Frost?" Jane asked pointedly.  
"Yes, I think we have, Rizzoli," Frost replied, stifling a laugh at the perturbed look on Jane's face. At that, the three of them turned and left the pawn shop, leaving Sergio in peace.

* * *

He watched as the group of three entered the pawn shop, delighted at his sick and twisted game that they were caught in. He understood the obsession his idol had had with the raven haired detective. She was beautiful, strong, but weak in a real way, too. Watching the interaction between the detective and the blond haired doctor sparked an extra plot to his game. Yes, this was going to get good indeed. Rizzoli would have no idea what hit her until it was too late.  
"This one's for you, Hoyt," he growled at the dark clouds in the distance. "I'll finish what you started. I know you'd be proud of me." He stayed in his position until he saw the same three exit the small building again. By now they had to have been putting the pieces together. But he had another ace up his sleeve. One last victim to really get under Jane's skin. One close to home. Not necessarily someone she was close to, but he had picked another young woman in Jane's apartment complex to be his third and final victim. He was almost giddy with anticipation of tonight's plan, not to mention the new plan that was hatching. He'd have to plan this one quickly, but it'd need to be clean and swift. The night would help him. Darkness was always on his side. He watched their car take off back to headquarters, he assumed. With a head full of ideas, he turned around the corner of the building he had been behind disappeared into the evening.

* * *

"Jane, you're pushing yourself too hard. This case isn't going to crack tonight, let's just head out of here." Maura had come up to the bullpen to check on her friends and found them all quite frustrated. On their way back to BPD, Jane and Maura had decided that Jane would stay at Maura's tonight. She was in no shape to stay by herself in her apartment, and Jane hadn't even argued against Maura. She had known it'd be pointless. Maura was right as usual, and Jane figured it'd be no different than most of the other nights she spent at Maura's.

"Ok, ok, you're right," Jane conceded. Maura was surprised that it had been so easy to get Jane to agree to leave for the evening. It was only six o'clock, but Jane had had enough, that much was obvious to everyone around her. Jane grabbed her coat and followed after Maura, waving goodbye to the others as they left.

"Maur?" Jane asked as the two women entered Maura's house. "Could we go for a quick run? We don't have to go far, I just need to get out." Maura glanced out the nearest window.

"Are you sure, Jane? It's supposed to storm this evening. The meteorologist on channel four said there was a good chance for storms around 6:30…"  
"Really, Maur? We don't have to go far, or be gone for long, we'll be fine! Besides, I watch the channel five news, and they said 7:00." Jane nudged Maura playfully, and the blond couldn't help but chuckle. At least Jane was in a little bit better mood now.

"Alright, I suppose we can go on a quick run," Maura said with a smile. "But I really need to change first, and unless you're going to run in that, I'm guessing you do, too." They both headed upstairs, Maura grabbing some extra clothes for Jane to borrow, and we're out the door a few minutes later. 

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**A/N: Did you guys like it? I hope so! Stick around for the next chapter, it might be a little bit shorter, but we're gonna get some Rizzles action (finally, I know!).**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: How about that season 5 premiere, huh? Here's chapter seven for your reading pleasure! Thanks to those of you that have sent me reviews, you all make my day! Keep reading and reviewing, please! :) This chapter is pretty fluffy, so I hope you like it. I enjoyed writing it! I don't own any of these R&amp;I characters, unfortunately, and all mistakes are mine since I have no beta! Keep on keepin' on, kiddos :)**

* * *

Maura had been right, of course. The rain had started a few blocks before their designated turn around point on the jog. As the sprinkles turned into bigger, wetter drops, the two women exchanged a glance that spoke volumes. The playful look behind Maura's eyes and the slight smirk on her lips said _I told you so_, without the words ever having to actually leave her mouth. Jane's slightly exasperated look was complimented with a twinkle in her eyes that told Maura to _Hush_. By the time they had turned around to head home, the inky black color of the sky had less to do with the approaching night, but more so with the looming storm. At the first sight of lightning in the distance, Jane saw worry dance across Maura's features, and their pace quickened.

"Did that lightning light a fire under your feet, Maur?" Jane huffed with a grin at her friend.

"Metaphorically, yes, Jane. Lightning can strike up to ten miles away from the actual storm!" Maura retorted playfully. "And I'd like to get home before these new sneakers I wore are totally soaked."

"Hey, that's your fault for wearing new shoes! You knew it was going to rain," Jane stuck her tongue out at her friend as Maura's house came into sight. Maura responded to Jane's comment with a perfectly formed pout. Then the downpour started. The two women nearly sprinted the last block and a half back to Maura's place, and quickly made it inside. They were both completely soaked from the rain and when they got a good look at each other, burst into laughter. A run had been the perfect distraction for Jane. _No,_ Jane thought to herself, _MAURA was the perfect distraction. _Even with her hair stuck to her face haphazardly, Jane thought Maura was the most beautiful woman she had even seen. She watched as a droplet of water left the end of a strand of hair and rolled down to the tip of Maura's nose. Before she knew what she was doing, Jane lifted her finger up to catch the drop before it fell. Her breath caught in her chest as Maura just smiled.

"Come on," Maura grabbing Jane's hand as she turned to start up the stairs, "We'll need to get into some dry clothes." Jane exhaled the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding as a single word, "Yeah," escaped with it, and she let Maura lead her upstairs.

Maura had started to rattle off some weather related facts, and Jane thought she had even heard her say something about hypothermia, but her brain couldn't really focus on Maura's words. Once they had reached the upstairs, Maura had tossed a t-shirt and a pair of sweats to Jane for her to wear. Maura had turned to her own clothes then, and Jane watched her friend start to peel off the wet shirt that clung to Maura's torso. Jane could feel her jaw dropping, but did nothing about it since Maura's back was to her. It was only when Maura's arms came back up to take off the black sports bra she had been wearing that Jane averted her eyes. She wasn't sure she could handle watching what would happen next. Jane turned to the clothes Maura had given her and quickly changed into them. As she did that, she saw the sports bra hit the floor out of the corner of her eye and Jane felt her knees go weak.

"Wouldn't you agree, Jane?" Maura asked her. Jane slowly looked at Maura, not sure which state of undress her best friend would be in now.  
"Uh, yeah, sure," Jane replied. Slightly relieved and disappointed at the same time that Maura was wearing clothes again. Not just any clothes though. She was wearing a tight pair of yoga pants and a teal sweater that hung slightly off of one shoulder. Maura smiled at her and continued whatever it was she was going on about. Maura took the wet clothes she had been wearing and went to place them in the hamper in her bathroom, just off of the bedroom. Jane's eyes followed Maura the whole way, as Jane was now sitting at the end of Maura's bed. Maura walked out of the bathroom, still talking away.  
"You know, Maur, you're absolutely beautiful, almost an infuriating level of beauty," Jane stated simply as she stood and crossed to Maura, placing both hands on Maura's shoulders. Jane didn't know where these words were coming from. Well, she did, but she couldn't believe they were actually making it past the filter of her mouth that she usually kept well-guarded.

"Thank you, Jane," Maura smiled warmly at her, "I've always striven for a level of charm and class that-" but that was all Maura managed to say on that matter. Her words were cut off as Jane's lips suddenly met hers. It was a soft kiss, slightly tentative, but full of meaning that had passed unspoken between the two women over the past several years. Jane's brain felt like it was melting. Maura's lips were softer than she had ever imagined. Jane felt as if her heart were soaring through the air, even though she knew Maura would say that would be impossible. But then Jane's brain kicked in and she pulled away from Maura quickly.

As Jane's lips had met hers, Maura had felt alive. It was different that when anyone else had ever kissed her, and she was confused when Jane pulled away from her. Jane was shaking her head side to side.

"No, I can't—you don't—we shouldn't—damn, I messed up!" Jane blew past Maura as she spoke and raced downstairs to the front door. Jane's mind was racing, "_How could I have done that? Maura's going to hate me now. I'm so stupid! Did that just happen? Did she kiss me back? What does it matter, it's not like she likes me like that. Dammit, Rizzoli!"_ Maura was rooted to the spot for a moment, not sure what had just happened. Hearing Jane thunder down the stairs threw her back into reality.  
"Jane, stop!" Maura called after her best friend, "Where are you going? Stay here!" Jane's thoughts were too loud, rattling around in her brain, for her to register Maura hot on her heels. Maura followed Jane out into the night, but Jane continued running away from her, into the rain and darkness of the night.

"No, Jane, wait!" Maura cried after her, "I want this, too! So badly, Jane!" Maura's voice cracked under the strain of yelling as tears ran down her face, mixed into the cold rain on her face. Lightning seared through the sky and thunder cracked overhead, all too close to home. It scared Maura, but not as much as the thought of losing Jane, which she was sure was what had just happened to her. She collapsed onto her hands and knees on the ground, feeling the ground turn to mud underneath her. The tears flowed freely now, there was no point in hiding them, and when Maura had the courage to lift her head and look to where Jane had run off to, she could no longer see her best friend. Maura thought she could physically feel her heart breaking, even though she knew that was impossible.

"Well, ain't that a shame, sweetie," a gravelly voiced sneered at her from somewhere over he left shoulder. Before she could turn her head to see the man, something cold and hard connected with her head and everything went dark.

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**A/N: Ok, so that ending wasn't fluffy at all, but what did you think of it? After all, we have a case to get back to ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hello again, you wonderful readers! It's been too long since I updated this story, I know. Sooo, here's the longest chapter yet. I hope you like it! A HUGE thank you goes out to those of you that have sent me reviews, and those of you that follow/favorite this story. You are the best people! As usual, all mistakes are my own. I'm only human, and without a beta! Unfortunately, I don't own these characters, yada yada, just the story idea. (Plus, the writers aren't leaving much to subtext anymore, are they? I mean, these last episodes have been full of gay :) ) Enjoy! (or don't, I guess that's up to you.)**

* * *

Jane ran. She ran faster and harder than she thought she could, the blood pounding in her ears as tears and raindrops streamed down her face. Behind her, she could hear Maura's distressed voice. What was she saying? Jane couldn't make it out, but she wasn't about to turn around now and get some lecture about how everything would be okay, followed by some scientific facts, no doubt. As Jane's feet hit the soaked pavement with each step, everything faded behind her. Her mind went blank and her body went numb and she relied on her feet to carry the rest of her back home. Jane finally snapped out of it once she saw her apartment just a couple blocks away. She felt the pain in her feet and realized how hard breathing had become. Whether that was from the uncontrollable sobbing or the fact that she had just sprinted from Maura's back to her place, she wasn't sure. In the hallway, Jane fumbled around in her jacket pocket, looking for the key to her apartment. Finding it, she pulled it out and with a shaky hand managed to get inside. She closed the door behind her and leaned her back up against it, taking deep breaths to try to control her tears. She couldn't take it anymore. Jane stumbled over to the refrigerator, pulled out a beer, and sank to the floor with her back against the now-closed refrigerator door. She couldn't help thinking that she had messed everything up. Maybe she should go back over to Maura's? Or at least call her. No, how could she do that after the scene she had just caused? But damn, that kiss had been the best thing to happen to her, Jane realized, and she was almost certain that Maura had kissed her back, hadn't she? The tears kept falling down Jane's face and splashed onto the floor as she kept drinking herself into a stupor, and before long, Jane was passed out on her kitchen floor.

* * *

"Jaaaaanie," the sickening voice called out to her. "_No_," Jane thought, "_This isn't happening, not again_." A cold sweat formed on Jane's brow and her breathing quickened. She tried to move, wanted to run, but her feet were stuck firmly in place as she watched Hoyt saunter up to her. A whimper escaped Jane's lips as Hoyt reached out a hand to caress her face. "Shhh, Janie, it's alright. I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to talk to you for a little bit," he cooed, a gleam of something evil in his eyes.

"What do you want from me, Hoyt," Jane tried to say as evenly as she could, her voice only cracking slightly at the end.

"Oh, I don't want anything from you, dear," he sneered, "My buddy is going to take plenty away from you though," he laughed mercilessly.

"I know the murders are being done to get to me, that part has been pretty obvious." Jane tried to get the upper hand, but she knew there was always something else Hoyt had thought of before she had.

"Oh yes, I had certainly hoped you would have caught on to that part by now," Hoyt laughed again. "But you're missing the first part of this game." Jane continued to stare intently at him, wondering where he was going to go with this. "Didn't you realize, Janie? The girls being chosen are the young, pretty girls, not unlike Dr. Isles, don't you think? Then they're dressed up to look like you, and given my signature." Hoyt looked quite pleased as Jane's face grew pale as what he was saying sunk in to her.

"No, you wouldn't dare…" Jane trailed off, unable to even say the words.

"You're right, I wouldn't. Unfortunately, I can't do anything anymore now that you've killed me. All that's left is this sick banter that we have every once in a while in your nightmares." Hoyt grinned at Jane, knowing he had struck a nerve. Of course he had. After all, this entire thing was Jane's doing. Her subconscious was an amazing thing. Jane turned from Hoyt and ran her fingers through her hair. Was the killer going to go after Maura next, and then come for Jane? She had to get this all figured out before it was too late.

"Janie, I've got one last present for you," Hoyt called to her from behind.

"What do you want, scum-" but Jane's words were cut short as Hoyt jumped at her as she was turning around and he pinned her to the ground. He pulled a scalpel out of his pocket and pressed it to her throat with a wicked grin on his face.

"Sweet dreams," he jeered at her, and started to slide the cold blade across her neck.

"NO!" Jane screamed.

* * *

The screaming, it echoed in her head and seemed to go on for too long. Was that all her doing, or had someone else screamed too? She wasn't sure, but the pounding in her head let her know that she was most definitely awake. Jane's entire body was stiff, but she supposed that was warranted after spending the night on the hard kitchen floor. She used the nearby counter edge to pull herself up to her feet. The room seemed brighter, and after glancing at the microwave clock she saw that it was 6:45 a.m. Just after the time she normally woke up. The sweat from her nightmare clung to her clothes still, as Jane went to grab some new clothes from her bedroom and headed off towards the shower. The hot water helped to dull her pains, and soothe the painful memory of her most recent nightmare. Just as she started to dry off, she heard her phone ring in the other room. Her heart leapt at the thought that maybe Maura had decided to call her and see if everything was alright. No such luck, it was Korsak.

"Rizzoli." Jane answered the phone with her customary greeting.

"Jane, stay in your apartment. I'll be there in ten, be ready to work.

"Wha-, um, okay?" Jane sputtered.

"I'll explain when I get there," and with that the line went dead. Jane hurried back to the bathroom and got dressed, throwing her hair up into a ponytail as she went along.

Finally, Jane heard an urgent knock at her door. She peeked through the peephole and was surprised to see Frost standing there instead of Korsak.

"Frost, what are you-," Jane started as she opened the door. Frost held up his hand and cut her off mid-sentence.

"Korsak sent me down to get you. I was, um, of little use to them at the crime scene." Jane could have guessed as much from the sickly look on Frost's face. "This one's bad, Jane, he wasn't sure if you should see it, but we figured you'd find out about it anyway, especially when it happened so close to you…" Frost trailed off.

"Well, let's get on with it then," she chided, grabbing her keys from the coffee table nearby and locking the door behind her. Frost was silent as they climbed up the two flights of stairs. When they reached the hallway, Korsak was waiting outside of an apartment for them.

"Jane, it's bad. I know you won't listen to me about staying out of this, but prepare yourself. Frost, you wait out here." Frost and Jane both nodded at Korsak's words. Jane took a deep breath and steeled her nerves. As she walked into the apartment, she immediately saw why Frost hadn't lasted long in here. The victim was another female, dressed in a blazer and dress pants, but the killer had gone all out with this one. Her eyes were first drawn to the blood all over the victim's front and that which had stained the carpet around the woman. The victim's throat was slashed, not quite as neatly as the others, and it seemed deeper, too, from what Jane could tell. What she noticed next nearly made her sick. The woman had had her hands impaled by scalpels which were still stuck through the hands and into the carpet. Jane felt vomit bubbling in the back of her throat.

"Victim's name is Janessa Richards," Korsak informed her. Jane nodded her head. "Did you know her at all, Jane?"  
"Not really," she answered truthfully, "we would run into each other every once in a great while. Exchanged the usual 'Hellos," not much other than that though."

"I understand," Korask said, "I'm sorry you had to see her like this, Jane. We didn't want to move the body before the M.E. could take a look at it. Speaking of which, do you know where Dr. Isles is this morning? None of us could get a hold of her, so Dr. Pike is on his way over." Jane swallowed and looked down at the floor. "No, I haven't seen Maura since last night…" Jane seemed to be uncomfortable at the mention of her best friend, Korsak noticed, but he decided not to pry into it. The two ladies would work out whatever was going on between them, they always did. Jane, on the other hand, was worried that Maura was avoiding her. _"No,"_ Jane thought, _"She wouldn't let something like that get in the way of work. Her job is far too important to her. Shit…the dream…they can't get a hold of Maura… I need to go check on her." _Jane suddenly looked up from the floor. "Korsak, I've gotta run back to my apartment, then I'll go check on Maura. I'll meet you guys back at the station, once you guys have finished with Dr. Pike over here." Korsak acknowledged Jane's words with a nod of his head while he talked with another worker at the crime scene. Jane turned on her heels and rushed back downstairs, ignoring the questioning looks of Frost and Frankie as she passed them in the hallway.

When she reached her door, Jane was surprised to find a note on it. It read:

**Missing something? What a shame. Come alone if you want it back. I don't like to be kept waiting…**

Jane flipped the note over to see the short address on the back. _"No, dammit, not Maura! This is all my fault."_ Jane's mind raced while her heart rate skyrocketed. Phone and keys in hand, she turned tail and ran out to find her car, with tears burning in her eyes.

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**A/N: I hope I did this chapter justice. I find it kind of fun to write Hoyt in, is that twisted?**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I still own nothing here, just the idea for the story. Let's skip all the stuff about me being a terrible human being for not updating this sooner... S/O to my friend Dylan and those of you who left reviews encouraging me to update. Sometimes I just need a little extra poke and prod to get going. This chapter was a pain to write, but I think it's decent. Anyway, leave me a review and let me know what you think of it! You people are amazing :)**

* * *

As Jane reached her car, she found Frankie already waiting there for her.

"Jane, what was all of that about?" He could see the tears threatening to fall from her eyes, and that worried him. Jane wasn't much of a crier, but he knew this case had her shaken.

"I-I can't talk about it right now, ok, Frankie?" He stepped aside so Jane could get into her car, but she knew he wasn't convinced. "You trust me, right?" Jane asked him.

"Of course I do, you know that," he confirmed for her.

"Alright, well, if you haven't heard from me in 30 minutes, come to this address," she stated as she handed a slip of paper to her brother. Frankie nodded and shut Jane's car door as she started up the vehicle. Their eyes met as Jane put the car into drive, and Frankie could see the pain behind them. He felt like she was pleading with him, wanting him to give her the time she needed, but he could also see that she was scared, and that worried him. Jane was almost never scared, and she certainly wasn't one to show it. As the car rounded the corner, Frankie went back inside. "_Ten minutes,"_ he thought, _"That's all the time I'll give her."_

Jane's mind was going a mile a minute. She was absolutely terrified for Maura's safety, and she would never forgive herself if something horrible happened to her. She was in love with her best friend, that much was certain. Even if Maura didn't feel the same way, Jane would do her best to push away the feelings and not ruin their friendship. Maura was more important to her than anyone else had ever been. Maura was her world, and Jane didn't know what she would do if that reality was pulled out from under her. As she drove, scenes of all the time she had spent with Maura flashed through her head. So many times she could have told Maura how she felt, could have just reached out and kissed that beautiful woman. Jane hated herself for running out on Maura the other night. It wasn't that she didn't feel the same way towards Maura, because she definitely did. Maura had just caught her off guard and Jane had panicked. She had been worried about the change in their friendship, and Jane knew she could never lose Maura, even if that meant that had to stay friends forever. But when she had had the chance, Jane had run away from it, and now she was worried that she would completely lose Maura forever, without having a chance to explain her actions. Tears were streaming down Jane's face by now, and her stomach flipped as she realized she had arrived at the address.

_"Alright, it's been nine minutes, that's long enough," _Frankie decided. He unfolded the paper and he felt his stomach drop. Frankie ran over to where Korsak and Frost were going over some of the crime scene details for processing and handed them the note. Without a word, the three of them sprinted out to the car and took off after Jane.

Jane was terrified of what she might find inside the house. From the outside, it was a small, old house with green paint that had long since started to peel off. She made her way around the house, trying to take in as much of it as she could to get a sense for what she might be up against. What stood out the most to her was that all of the doors and windows appeared to be boarded shut. _"How does he expect me to get in there? How did HE get in there?"_ Jane was thoroughly confused. Until, that is, she rounded the last corner of the house. There she found a cellar door that led in what she guessed would be a basement, and she was sure that was where she would find Maura and her kidnapper. Taking a deep breath and readying her gun, Jane advanced toward the cellar door. She noticed that it was partly open already, he was probably expecting her. She peered in as much as she could, but there wasn't much to see from the tiny crack that the door was open and it was almost pitch black inside. Jane lightly pushed the door open, but stayed outside still. There was no noise and no movement from inside. Jane wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but it did nothing to help her nerves. She gently pushed the door the rest of the way open and let her eyes adjust to the dim lighting before she ventured inside. She immediately spotted Maura on the other side of the room. Maura was tied up to a chair and facing away from her. Jane also thought it looked like Maura was gagged, too, based on what looked like a strip of cloth that was behind Maura's head and disappeared towards the front.

Jane looked around as she advanced into the room. The room was barren and she didn't see anyone else in there besides Maura and herself. There was only one other door which was right in front of Maura. Jane approached Maura, but her friend made no acknowledgement that she knew Jane was there. As Jane rounded to the front of Maura, she saw that Maura was indeed gagged and she seemed to either be asleep or unconscious.

"Hey, Maura? Hun, can you wake up for me?" Jane whispered as she reached up to lightly stroke the side of Maura's face. Her friend stirred ever so slightly at the touch. "Hey, sleepy-head, how are you doing?" Jane asked, trying to coax Maura back to her as she removed the gag.

"Mmm, hurts," Maura winced as she started to wake.

"I know, Maur, but I'll fix it, ok?" Wrestling with her feelings, Jane decided to go for it and she placed a light kiss on Maura's lips, barely even touching them, but she wanted Maura to know that she was here for her. The kiss seemed to wake Maura even more as it caused her eyelids to flutter open and she searched for Jane's eyes in the darkness.

"Oh, Jane, Jane, I was so afraid. I thought I would never see you again," she said, tears starting to form in her eyes as she realized that the Jane in front of her was actually real. "Jane—I, I just… MOVE!" Maura shouted. Jane was caught off guard and wasn't quite quick enough. As she dived off to the side of the room, she felt something heavy connect with her leg, and her gun clattered across the floor.  
"Stupid!" she heard a gruff voice yell from over by Maura. Jane's stomach lurched as she heard the slap of a palm hitting Maura's face and the gasp that Maura let out. Rage burned inside Jane at the sound, but she hardly had any time to react. Her leg protested as she got back up and faced her attacker. He charged at her and Jane realized he had hit her with a wooden board. There were nails sticking out of it in random places and angles, but luckily none of the nails had found her leg the first time. Jane ducked out of the way as he swung at her again, narrowly missing. As he turned around, he swung again and found Jane's side. The force of the blow sent her sprawling across the cement floor, scraping the side of her face as she slid. Jane didn't think her ribs were broken, but they were definitely bruised. She rolled out of the way, much to her body's displeasure, as the assailant swung directly for her head. Jane realized she had rolled almost all the way over to her gun, so she continued rolling. He saw her going for it just as she reached the gun, and almost beat her to it. Jane rounded her gun on him just as the wooden board made contact with her leg again. This time she felt a nail pierce her calf. She steadied the gun as she cried out and fired several rounds into the man's chest, the force of the point-blank shots knocking him backwards.

Jane looked back over at Maura for the first time since the attack started and she was met with tear soaked eyes. She made her way back over to Maura, slowly, and started untying her best friend.

"Jane—I, I love you," Maura whispered, almost inaudibly. Jane smiled, even though she was in a fair amount of pain, and whispered back, "I love you, too, Maur."

"But why did you run away from me last night?" Maura asked, the confusion in her voice was written on her face.

"I was scared," Jane said, "scared that you didn't feel the same way after I kissed you. Scared that I had messed everything up and that we would never be friends again. I know that running away isn't very sensible, but it was the first thing that came to my mind," Jane replied, trailing off in her explanation as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Oh, Jane," Maura said, cupping Jane's face in her newly freed hands, "I've loved you for so long, did you really not know?"  
"I wasn't exactly sure…" Jane replied as she looked away, silently cursing herself for not realizing it sooner.

"Well now you know, and we'll never let the other forget that we love each other again, right?"  
"Never," Jane replied with a smile. Maura brought Jane's face up to her own and captured Jane's lips in a tender kiss.

"Now how about we get out of this dungeon, Maur?"

"I think I'd like that, Jane."

The two women hobbled out of the basement and back into the waning sunlight, Jane's arm around Maura's shoulder for support and Maura's arm wrapped tightly around Jane's waist, helping keep her upright.

* * *

**A/N: I'm thinking there will be two more chapters to this story. The next one will probably be shorter, and the last one will hopefully be fluffy/smutty, because, why not? ;) So that will probably be the plan for this unless someone gives me a better idea. 'Kay, thanks :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **I'm absolute trash, I know. Here's the middle chapter that fills some space so I can properly end this story in the next chapter. If you hate me forever and jumped ship from this story a LOOOOONG time ago, I don't blame you. I hate myself just as much as you do. *Offers up chapter and scurries away to a dark hole.*

* * *

As Jane and Maura stepped out into the soft light of the setting sun, they heard shouts coming from the front of the house.

"Move carefully! We don't know what's going on inside, but I'm pretty sure those were gunshots we heard!" Korsak shouted to Frankie and Frost. Both men nodded to Korsak as they approached the side of the house.

"Korsak!" Jane yelled, "We're coming out now, we're mostly fine." She looked at Maura and Maura nodded. Maura had already done a mental checklist of her own injuries. She was mostly fine, just sore from being tied up. She would probably have a bruise on her face from that last slap, too. Jane had a slight limp from taking a nail to the calf, and her ribs would likely be bruised for a while after being hit. They were lucky enough to have not sustained any worse injuries.

After hearing Jane, the three men ran to that side of the house and saw the two women. They looked a little worse for wear, but seemed to be no severe injuries.

"Frankie, go call for an ambulance," Korsak told him.

"Korsak, we don't need an ambulance, we're fine," Jane chided. Frankie looked between the two of them, he couldn't decide whose glare was more intimidating, but Maura spoke up.

"I think you're right about not needing an ambulance, Jane," at this Jane looked victoriously at Korsak. "…however, we should go to the hospital," she finished. Jane rolled her eyes and groaned.

"Really, Maur? You couldn't let me win just once?"  
"On the contrary, Jane, you win almost all of the time. I do think you could use a Tetanus shot and it would be good to have a doctor check you over."

"Can't you just check me out, Maur?" Jane said slyly with a wink at her best friend. Maura blushed and the three men looked at each other in confusion. The men weren't unused to the two women subtly flirting, but Jane was never this open about it. Jane caught the look that the three shared.  
"Something you guys wanna say?" she asked.

"Oh, no, no, we're good," they all fumbled over each other, knowing that if Jane wanted them to know something, she would tell them when she was ready to do so. "Alright, let's go to the hospital then," Jane said grudgingly. "Oh, and there's a dead guy in the basement, we should probably call that in. He kidnapped Maura and I had to shoot him when he attacked me," she said nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders. Frankie gave Jane an unbelieving look while Korsak shot her a death glare for speaking about an incident like that in such a passive manner. Frost got on his radio and called it in. The group waited for the other officers to arrive so they could give their statements and then Jane and Maura started to leave.

"Hey, Jane," Frankie called as she and Maura walked towards the car Jane had driven here. "Do you two want me to come with? Or come over for dinner later so you don't have to be alone after all this?" The two women exchanged a glance and Maura responded just as Jane opened her mouth to do the same.

"That won't be necessary tonight, Frankie, but thank you for the offer. I think a little alone time is actually just what we need," she smiled at Jane. One look from Maura and Jane's heart jumped into her throat and it was Jane's turn to blush. Frankie looked back and forth at the two women. He was shocked to see Jane blush at Maura's words, since he was sure he'd seen Jane blush on only two other occasions, but he didn't want to push anything tonight.

"Ok," he said, "I'll let you tell Ma about all of this then," he said, chuckling.

"Ugh, maybe I'll just stay at the hospital instead," Jane replied. Frankie and Maura laughed at her, and the two women got into the car.

* * *

Two hours, one Tetanus shot, and two x-rays later, Jane was cleared to go home. Maura was tested for a concussion after being hit in the head so hard the night before, but everything was fine. Jane hadn't broken any bones, which the doctors said was nothing short of a miracle after Jane described what had happened, but that she would probably be very sore for the next few days. The doctors also said that Maura didn't have a concussion, but that she would need to take a couple of day off so she could fully recover from the entire experience. Jane and Maura all but ran from the hospital, skirting around Angela with excuses and reassurances thrown over Jane's shoulder. She knew her mom would be upset that she was ignoring her, but Jane didn't want to deal with that right now. She and Maura needed to get home, and they would probably lock themselves in the house for the rest of the weekend.

* * *

**A/N:** Like I said, I'm trash. I'm going to work on chapter 11 now, and that should wrap up our story. Hopefully some cute fluff/smut. Maybe that'll make up for my sins.


End file.
